Two big-name groups in the ‘70s soul scene are set to touch down in Solano County in the coming weeks, care of concert promoter and Glen Cove resident Jeff Trager. Soon, Fairfield’s Downtown Theatre will be filled with the sounds of the Delfonics and the Ohio Players.

The concerts are part of Trager’s goal to bring high-quality music and entertainment to Solano County. Since the closure of Pepperbelly’s Comedy Club following a fire in 2013, downtown Fairfield has not been a prime spot for big-name entertainers to perform. Trager has been working to change that with his concerts at Downtown Theatre.

Trager is a veteran of the concert promoting industry with 50 years of his experience under his belt. He helped promote Ike and Tina Turner’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and Vangelis’ hit theme to the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire.” Along the way, he has worked with some of the biggest artists of all time, including the Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, The Eagles, Al Green and more.

One of Trager’s proudest moments was his work in assisting concert promoting legend Bill Graham with his annual Day on the Green concert, which brought such bands as AC/DC, Def Leppard, and The Scorpions to Oakland Coliseum. Trager said he is trying to emulate Graham— who he has referred to as “the Michael Jordan of concert promoters”— by bringing top talents to Solano County. Last year, Trager brought Con Funk Shun and Tower of Power founding member Lenny Williams to Downtown Theatre, and both shows sold out.

“That shows me that people don’t have a lot of places to go to in this area, whether it’s Vacaville, Fairfield, Vallejo or Benicia,” he said. “This way, they don’t have to drive all the way to Yoshi’s in Oakland to see these kinds of bands.”

Many of the groups that Trager books for Downtown Theatre have also played at Yoshi’s, and two of the next upcoming acts are no exception.

The Delfonics, the ‘60s and ‘70s Philadelphia soul group best known for hit songs like “(Didn’t I) Blow Your Mind This Time” and “La-La (Means I Love You),” will be playing two shows on Friday, April 20. The current touring group is led by Greg Hill, who was a member of the original Delfonics and broke off from the original group to form Greg Hill & the Delfonics Revue, who are not affiliated with the original Delfonics but still perform many of their songs live. The concerts will be held at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $44 for both shows. Motown tribute group The Best Intentions will be the opening act.

Also performing two shows on Saturday, May 12 are the Ohio Players. The Dayton-based R&B band blended soul, funk and disco, and they were one of the most successful groups of the ‘70s in their genre. They scored No. 1 hits with “Fire” and “Love Rollercoaster,” have frequently been sampled by hip-hop artists, and released their first single in nearly 30 years— “Reset”— last fall. At least four members of the classic lineup will be performing with this new iteration of the Ohio Players when they perform Downtown Theatre. The shows will be held at 7:30 and 10 p.m., and tickets are $55.

For these two groups, Trager expects a high turnout because of both acts’ ability to appeal to a wide audience in their heyday.

“No matter what ethnicity you are, most people have heard of the Ohio Players and the Delfonics,” he said. “This area is really diverse, but there’s nowhere to go see these kinds of groups, so I’m bringing them here where you don’t have to drive or pay for parking.”

Trager also has several other acts booked for the Downtown Theatre in the coming months. On April 21, Jack Wright will take the stage to pay tribute to Neil Diamond. The Count Basie Orchestra, led by Scotty Barnhart, and Pink Floyd tribute band House of Floyd will perform in June. Lakeside will be coming in July, singer Rosalin Pugh will host an evening of gospel music in August and a Latin Rock Night in October. Trager will also be bringing back Beatles tribute band The Sun Kings to the Downtown Theatre in December— following a successful performance of “The White Album” in its entirety last month— and Johnny Cash tribute singer James Garner at an unspecified date. Trager also plans to bring comedy shows and local favorite Carlos Reyes, who has performed with Benicia musical talents such as Peppino D’Agostino and VOENA.

“There’s a lot of different types of music that I’m presenting for everybody, not for one segment of the population,” Trager said. “I just keep my eyes open for things that are appealing to the masses.”

Trager believes the shows at Downtown Theatre have been a success and have drawn people to Downtown Theatre for entertainment in a way it has not experienced in a long time.

“I’m trying to make Fairfield be a destination for great, quality music,” he said.

Downtown Theatre is located at 1035 Texas St. For more information on any of the individual shows, go to downtowntheatre.com.

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